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Friday, September 26, 2008

But doesn't go far. She has been 'redeployed' (gawd, I hate these communist terms) as Minister in the Presidency.

As Zille puts it,"Perhaps her political survival can be explained by the fact that her husband, Mendi Msimang, is a former ANC treasurer, and knows a great deal about the financial dealings and misdealings of the ruling party."

That's right, keep the people who know about the ANC's financial shenanigans close to the party core. Methinks, we've just traded one bunch of crooks for another. Source

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The Treatment Action Campaign (TAC) welcomes the appointments of Ms Barbara Hogan as the Minister of Health and Dr Molefi Sefularo as the Deputy Minister of Health. We congratulate President Motlanthe for making these excellent appointments.

We are confident that Hogan has the ability to improve the South African health system. She has been one of the few Members of Parliament to speak out against AIDS denialism and to offer support to the TAC, even during the worst period of AIDS denialism by former President Thabo Mbeki and former Health Minister Manto Tshabalala-Msimang.

0n 14 February 2003, she received the TAC memorandum to President Mbeki for a treatment plan. She was removed as Finance Portfolio Chairperson by Mbeki in part for her stand on HIV/AIDS. She has a reputation for being hard-working, competent and principled.

Hogan has a long record of struggle for human rights. Twenty-seven years ago, she was detained and tortured by the apartheid security Police. She was tried for treason as an ANC member and spent eight years in prison.

Dr Sefularo, during his tenure as MEC for Health of North West Province, supported ARV rollout and the implementation of the Prevention of Mother to Child Transmission (PMTCT) in the province.

There are tremendous challenges ahead for Hogan and Sefularo. The inequalities of the apartheid system, the HIV epidemic and the utterly disastrous reign of Tshabalala-Msimang have left the health system in a parlous state.

Hogan's biggest challenges will be to meet the treatment and prevention targets of the HIV/AIDS National Strategic Plan, integrate TB and HIV treatment, develop a feasible human resources plan for health workers and undo the considerable legacy of AIDS denialism left by her predecessor. The TAC will do all that it can to assist her and the Department of Health to meet these challenges.

Over two million South Africans died of AIDS during the presidency of Thabo Mbeki. At least 300,000 deaths could have been avoided had the president merely met the most basic constitutional requirements. Instead Mbeki and his health minister pursued a policy of politically supported AIDS denialism and undermined the scientific governance of medicine.

Many more people would have died had it not been for the campaign for treatment and the independence of our courts, which ultimately forced Mbeki and Tshabalala-Msimang to implement an HIV treatment plan. We believe that the period of politically supported AIDS denialism has ended with the appointment of the Minister of Health.

We congratulate Hogan and Sefularo and wish them the best. Aluta continua!

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Opinion(s):

Quite right too. She and Mbeki together should also be charged in the International Court of Justice for crimes against humanity for their deliberate refusal to cooperate in the antiretroviral treatment programme which could have saved many millions of young lives. This programme was going to be funded by one of the world's richest men, Bill Gates. Ex-US Pres. Jimmy Carter said yesterday that he was 'happy' when he heard that Mbeki had been kicked out - he and Bill Gates' father had nearly punched Mbeki when they had travelled to South Africa with this huge cash-offer to treat the HIV-AIDS epidemic in South Africa, and when Mbeki said that the 'antiretroviral medicines had been created by whites to kill black people...' Everybody says that Mbeki was an 'intellectual'. God help us! How can they believe that when Mbeki was this stupid?

Now here's a case that's seriously sick - AIDS seems to be bring out the very worst in the human race!

GRONINGEN, The Netherlands. Oct 13 2008 - One of the three young Dutchmen accused of deliberately injecting a man with his own HIV-infected blood, has admitted the deed, sort of...

The man - who may only be identified by Dutch privacy laws under his first name and initial, Peter M. -- said that he had injected another homosexual man, assisted by the instructions from co-accused Peter M., a nurse, with his own HIV-infected blood as a form of 'sex-game'...

The nurse however denies that he told his co-accused how to do it.

Accused are Peter M, Wim D and Hans J from the small provincial town of Scharmer and the university-city of Groningen.

Police submit that the three HIV+ homosexual men had lured their victims to 'sex-parties' via their internet chat sites and injected them as a form for revenge for having become AIDS-infected themselves.

Wim D. said in his defence today that their victims however knew in advance that 'they would have unprotected sex' at such parties.

The six victims told police however that they had not not known that such 'sex-games with unprotected sex' would be played. Instead they all claim that they had been drugged and then injected with the HIV+ blood without their being aware of it.

Wim said in his testimony that their victim 'had selected to have unsafe sex because it was so exciting.'

All three defendants denied having drugged the men, who now all are HIV+.

The nurse, Peter M. admitted that he had stolen hypodermic needles when working at the old age care home 't Blauwbörgje in Groningen.

"These (needles) were meant to be used during 'nipple-sex', he said -- when needles are injected into the nipples of sexual partners.

From this 'sex-game', the idea apparently was born to infect their HiV+ blood.

"It happened to us; we never suspected that I could have infected someone with it,' he said in his testimony.

He did however 'have the feeling that he had done something which wasn't allowed,' he added...

He claimed that there 'was a need among the homosexual male community to hold meetings with AIDS-infected homosexual men.

"We know that we are all infected and thus don't have to take any preventative measures,' he said.

Such HIV+Gay Scene parties apparently were also held in the Hoogezand-Sappemeer area where the six men said they had been drigged and infected.

The case started on Monday-morning and was attended by a large media-contingent, both local and foreign.

The three men can under Dutch law only be charged with serious assault because their infected victims are still alive.

Their advocates'defence team spokesman Adv Wim Anker said the State would have a difficult time to medically-prove which of the defendants had actually caused the HIV-infection in the six defendants.